“Hey, Lily. How’s everything?”
I was going to reply everything was great, but couldn’t get my mouth to utter the lie, and so instead I said, “I’m supposed to see Ash tomorrow and I don’t know how to deal with it.” I looked up at her and wrinkled my nose. “Oh, you meant the room, didn’t you?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I meant you.”
“I don’t know how I am. This whole situation is so...weird. I went to see Ash at the house, but he was out and after talking to Maya I’m not sure I want to go back.”
“Maya’s always been very...intense when it comes to her brother, he must have mentioned that,” she said, her words and delivery cautious.
I’d actually meant I might not want to return to the house because of what I’d discovered about her sister and Kate, but while Fiona’s interpretation of my words was different, it wasn’t entirely wrong, either.
“Intense?” I said. “You mean protective?”
“Sure, that, too.” She hesitated again before saying, “I’m sure he told you she had a major crush on him when they first met.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” I tried to keep my voice light so she wouldn’t realize I didn’t have the slightest idea, or that it sounded a little creepy. “But at that age, I mean, he was...?”
“Fifteen. She was twelve. Everybody knew from the start, but Maya thought it wasn’t obvious. Did he tell you about the notebook?”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“She carried it with her everywhere, used to scribble in it incessantly, like a journal, I suppose. Anyway, she dropped it on the bus. Apparently, one of the high-school mean girls found it, you know the type.”
“Too well, unfortunately.”
“Yeah, well, this girl, Sydney, passes the notebook around and everyone’s in hysterics because it’s covered in hearts and scribbles of ‘Maya and Ash forever.’ They called her a—” she lowered her voice to a whisper “—brotherfucker. It went on for months and months. Ash didn’t know for ages. Celine didn’t want to be the one to tell him.”
“That must’ve been horrible for Maya.”
“No doubt, and it explained why mean girl’s favorite possession, a two-hundred-and-fifty-buck designer jacket, went missing and ended up in tatters, flying on the school’s flagpole.”
“Maya did that?”
“Nobody knows for sure, but we all assumed she did. And who could blame her, really?”
“What about Ash? What did he do?”
“I don’t think she told him, either, not at first. I don’t know why, because Ash was immediately popular when he arrived from England. He would have put a stop to it right away, and people would have listened. He was untouchable, in a way. A leader. Before Ash arrived, Keenan thought he was the king of the castle, and then Ash dated the most popular girl in high school...”
“You mean Celine?”
“Yes. Keenan went bananas, tried to make her stop seeing Ash, but of course she wouldn’t listen. Why would she? Ash is a great guy. But then Celine left, and Keenan blamed him. Things seemed to settle down for a while, at least on the surface, but then Keenan went out with Kate before Ash ‘stole’ her, as my brother still puts it. Honestly, I’ve told him a hundred times it was because he drank too much and didn’t care enough about her, but the animosity between him and Ash runs way too deep for him to listen.” She wrinkled her nose. “Doesn’t this weird you out, talking about Ash’s exes?”
I let out a half laugh. “A little.”
“Only a little? You’re a better woman than me. So, what do you think you’ll do now?”
I flicked through the options in my mind. Go back to Brookmount, call Heron and Stevens and let them figure stuff out, or... “Stay a couple more days, at least until I speak to him properly. I can’t leave before that happens.”
“Good decision. And don’t worry about your room. We’ll go on a day-by-day basis, it’s yours for however long you need it.”
Ten minutes later I still sat outside alone, soaking up the last of the sun, and debating whether I’d made the right decision, when my phone rang. When I saw Mike’s number, I picked up immediately. “Hey,” I said. “How are you? You don’t need the car, do you? I took a little trip.”
“Ah, in that case this really isn’t the best time for my call...” He let out a long sigh. “Lily, I apologize, but the garage... I’m afraid we’ve got no choice. We’re closing. End of the month.”
“Closing?”
“It’s been looming large for a while, but I didn’t want to say anything last week, not with everything that happened to you. Basically...well, the truth is I can’t keep the business going. I thought I had someone lined up to take it over, but the deal fell through. I’m sorry, Lily, but I have to shut things down. Time to retire.”
“Oh, Mike, that’s awful.”
“I feel sick to my stomach. You were the last one on my list to call. Not because you were the least important, but because I kept hoping for a miracle. I don’t want to lose you. But it’s official, and I didn’t want to tell you while you’re on leave, but...”
“Don’t worry, it’s okay, I understand. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing, but thank you. You’re the first person to ask. I’ve been called all kinds of names in the past twenty-four hours, none of them pretty. I’ll do everything I can to pay your two weeks’ severance.”
“What about the car?”
“You said you’re on a trip?”
“Yeah, I’m not exactly in town.”
“Screw it,” he said. “Bring it back whenever you’re ready, it’s the least I can do.”
After we hung up my mind wouldn’t stop churning. Not only did I have multiple reasons to stay in Newdale, but losing my job
